I attended the University of New Orleans from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 2001, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education (Vocal) degree. (An education concentration is not currently offered in the music department at U.N.O.

I began the Master of Music Education degree program at Florida State University in the fall of 2006, completed that degree in 2008, and continued working towards a Ph.D. degree in Music Education, which was conferred in the winter of 2011. 

2001-2006

Before attending graduate school I taught music to K-8th grade students within the St. Charles Parish School District for five years. 

2006-2011

While completing my graduate degrees in Tallahassee, Florida, I did a variety of jobs including private piano instruction through Music Lessons Express, started by Lindsey Benedict. She also connected me with a Christian place of worship to earn extra cash as a pianist (the name of the church is lost to me right now). I also became certified to teach group exercise classes such as Step (Love) and even Zumba! (I think my next profession will be in health & wellness).

2012-2015

I do believe having an experience as a substitute teacher is beneficial to classroom teachers and I did substitute teach for the entire spring of 2012. My last placement was a full-time subbing opportunity in a middle school classroom. If I remember correctly, the current teacher traveled somewhere and ended up returning to school for graduate work so I ended up as the full-time vocal/general music teacher beginning the fall of 2012. I remained at Woodlawn Middle School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for 3 years and actually started my fourth year there before resigning to take a part-time position with TNTP (not an easy decision). 

2015-2016

TNTP trained me to observe and formally evaluate teachers completing their alternative certification to teach with Teach for America. Similarly as with other evaluative programs (ie., edTAP), you have to pass with a specific score in order to ensure consistency, regardless of the evaluator. Though there were no music teachers for me to observe during that academic year, the experience was valuable and helpful in my current position job as the coordinator of music education at Texas Southern University in Houston, TX.

I have been the music education coordinator at Texas Southern University since the fall of 2016; another instance of a "hail mary" experience. Nonetheless, I recently received tenure and am working on improving my practice as an educator, scholar, and service-minded professional. We shall see how it goes. 

Since January 1, 2023, I have been the acting department chair of the department, which has changed my focus tremendously

The courses I hope to share on this website provide an open look at the meat of my job, which is teaching, but below is my CV, which provides additional information on the other responsibilities connected to this position and the professorship of higher education.